& "Fangorn" Old Inverell Rd.

ASGAP Correa Study Group ISSN 1039-6926

~rmidale NSW 2350

Ph. (067) 75 1139 FAX (067) 72 2290

E e-mail dhitch@northnet.com.au

Newsletter No. 13

June, 1996

.qwq@Qa I

I M~ '"srhadk YOU to thole pop]= who sent by addred list of wttingr of different f-. I have the real -ED! I am Coma 'Gwen' which isquite diffemtb the hybrid

I , htetnsr. speakiog of fm which I thou@ was ik f MinMunication is ti0

Don ~eybury recently tlyt me n new hybrid #voJ'utionise our lives, not to mention make paupers ~f us dl. from hi& garden, which looks very pmmising. I will ,

trial it here and after Don gives it a name, we wilI It's not cheap to go browsing but one can

economise and limit oneself to sending and receiving e-mail and ha~ingt.hen~ccasiona1 searchhfo~_necesssary . -- bits of information. This requires self-discipline and plenty of it. Having a big bill at the end of the month amazingly increases one's sense of self-discipline dramatically.

I am also now able to send fzxes via my modem but cannot receive them. I have included my school fax number which is only useful during term time.

Speaking of the internet again, I did manage to find the SGAP Home Page and was interested to see a Page on Grevilleas and one on Callistemons. This set us thinking and next term we hope to put ogether a Home Page on Correas.

- decide how to release it.

The one exciting thing about Correas is that if you-have-a collecti~n i n y o u i d e n , yo~Wil l~ lmos t certainly come up with some natural hybrids. Most of these won't be worth releasing to the trade but the odd ones will and could sell very well.

We need some sort of policy on how to reward our members for their initial discoveries and not just let the Nursery business profit from our hard A

work. At Ballarat, I suggested a partnership scheme with SGAP, whereby the organisation' pay BPR costs and share the profits with the discoverer. Or it may be possible to give the discoverer an up-front payment ' and SGAP take all the royalties.

What do you think?

When I married Don 25 ago, I had no idea that he would one day come in handy as my technical expert in matters electronic and cyperspacy.

I Come to think of it he had no idea that he had married someone who would spend most of her waking moments in a glasshouse or garden!

Speaking of the garden, I have been busy! With a change in the weather and the end of the drought, I have been busily planting out all the lcorreas in pots that had been held over for the past

' few years. My garden is a sea of small stakes showing the location of over 100 forms of correas planted out during the last month.

It feels so good to finally be able to get these in the ground. Holding plants back meant that

did have som~casualties and I hope to replace these ver the next fear or so.

' I

Our Kangaroo Island Expedition is all set to go. Participants will include Cherree and Ian Densley, Rosemary and Doug. Pedler and Margie Barnett and her family. I have obtained the nscessary permits and will be collecting for Mt Annan Botanic Gardens and the Australian National ~otani'c Gardens as was done on the Gippsland trip.

This time we will be taking along a g P S satellite navigation device which will allo'w us toeget immediate reference points instead of having to woik them out on a map, which can take hours. ,

I am particularly interested in good forms of Correa pulchella and any hybrid swarms as well as documenting populations of any'rare finds.. With suchagood company and (we hope) pleasant weather, this should be a fantastic holiday.

Best Wishes - Maria' Hiichcock

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New Hybrids New Member

Don Weybury's new hybrid is a cross between Correa backhousianq and Coma wulchella. it has large roundecl leaves similar to C. backhousiana and a large pink bell similar to C. 'Pink Mist'. Don sent cuttings of the two parent plants which were growing nearby, as well, which is a good idea. it's important to document these things properly.

If, like Don, you also have some interesting discoveries, I'd be happy to trial them for you, while we decide what to do with them. If any other members would be interested in being triallers, please let me know. The important thing is that plants on trial must NOT be given away to friends or anyone else until we make a decision about whether they merit being registered and released to the nursery trade. If this sounds like a fortress mentality, it's necessary to ensure security of our genetic property.

I also have a new hybrid, which I have tentatively called C. reflexa 'Limelight'. It is a seedling from a Victorian forest form of C-reflexa which had red and green flowers. This form has the same growth habit, leaf size and shape but lime green flowers that glow in the moonlight. The flowers are long and narrow with darker green tips and, because of the sparse ieaf cover, reaiiy stand out from the foliage.

Does it have potential? I don't know. The plant habit is not terrific and may not be a good selling point. Perhaps it needs to be crossed again with something more bushy. Or perhaps it should just be left for the birds.

In the meantime, the Hartshorne hybrid (at least I think that's what it is) has definite potential. It is a vigorous, low, spreading shrub with the most attractive pale pink and cream bells. If you have this growing or have any information about its origin, please let me know. I would love to register it.

Howard Black's C. 'Ainsley ' is surviving the frosts and is looking good in the garden. C. 'Maria's Moodiness' is still sulking but did put out a few flowers last season.

' C. 'Western Pink Star' was one of my casualties in the greenhouse. It definitely does not like wet feet. Can someone-vlease send me some more cuttings to try yet again. @th time lucky?)

h n

Doug McTver of Mont Albert has just joined up: He is a member of thc Maroondah Group and wntes: i

"I have recently begun to plant a variety of Correas at our holiday house at Sorrenlo in Victoria. It is sand dune country - pure sand, little topsoil, and highly alkaline. The drainage is perFect, but bcing a holiday house we cannot provide regular watering, so that too is a disadvantage! However, the Correas are generally doing well, compared to other things we have tried, so we are hopeful. 1 am interested in any information which might extend the range of plants we can grow there, or improve the growth of the plants we are growing."

Who can help Doug? If you have experience of growing in such conditions, please drop him a line. It might be a good subject for a future newsletter to document what grows on various soil types. I can tell you that most Correas don't mind pure rock which i what I have. (I'm getting to be quite an expert on the crowbar these days).

Seriously though, a sea-side environment is just as much a challenge as the desert. You just have to iearn a few strategies and then the sky's the iimit. In my own case, I bought a chipper and put all my prunings through it and straight onto the garden. Over the years this has resulted in some areas of the garden which have wonderful humusy soil developing, ideal for many Correas.

I have established a dripper system as well which is linked up to an electronic timer. These timers are not very expensive and can be set to a number of watering periods. I tend to plant the forms which need regular watering, such as smaller plants, beside the dripper and those which can survive quit well with little watering (e.g., C.glabra forms, ; 'Marian's Marvel') away from the drippers.

I still lose the odd plant but it pleases me to say that Correas are more reliable than many other species of Rutaceae. One problem I do have is a persistent scale which weakens my plants and results in sooty mould. I have a C. 'Cane's Hybrid' which has been badly affected and C. 'Red Spiders' is also susceptible.

I hate spraying while plants are flowering because of the effect on the birds. Therefore, the spraying will have to wait until later in the year. Does anyone have any other solutions?

From the Members

Margie Barnett (Mt. Barker, SA) writes:

On the way home (from the Conference), we spent some time coming through the Otway Ranges and Ocean Road. One of my many delights was to find (just stumble across) masses of Correa reflexa prostrate form (pale green, yellow flowers) at the car park of the Twelve Apostles near Pt. Campbell. Is this the same form as the one from Nelson? Also we saw Correa reflexa at Mt. Richmond National Park in Victoria.

(This sounds like C. rey7exn Imr. nummulnriifolia, the Nelson form I think is red, at least the one I saw there was red. The Mt. Richmond form of C. rejlexa is stunning and should be introduced to cultivation. Ed)

Correa decumbens is now flowering in our garden beautifully (began in December). While I love the Correas for their winter flowering habit, I do appreciate a Correa that flowers at another time, especially when the Spring 'flush' is over.

We planted two C. lawrencianas (I don't know what form) in our front garden last October (95) Our garden is heavily shaded by 3-4 very old oak trees in the street, which also rob us of water and nutrients! I was pleased to read in the Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants that this species likes full shade to partial sun.

I would very much like to try some different forms also. One I have purchased from a Victorian Nursery is 'red'. If any member has other forms and would be willing to trade cuttings, I'd love to exchange what we can. (Any Correas, for that matter)

,'Your wish shall be granted! Margie is coming on the K.Is. trip so won't be able to receive cuttings until the middle of July. Zf you would like to help her out, her address is in the list at the back of this newsletter. Ed)

I also purchased a Correa reflexa cream. I wonder what the origins are? (It appears very different to the Nelson form in its small size - not fully grown.)

(Ah! The pleasures of Nursery labels! It's like a jigsaw puzzle isn't it? As long as Nurseries can sell plants labelled with anything they like, we'll have canfusion. Imagine b~tying a packet of biscuits labelted 'Biscuits brown' EcI]

Mt. Barker Summit, not a long way from us ( 5 or so kms) is home to many plants of Correa dabra.

much cooler than Adelaide (2-3 degrees) and only 40 kms away, and many plants of all kinds flower in Adelaide up to 4 weeks ahead of us here in the hills.

Our Australian Plant nursery 'Mt. Barker Woodlots and Wildflower Nursery', is on a block behind our home, not far out of the centre of town. We began in 1988 growing woodlot trees and quickly began to increase the range of smaller and ornamental species.

Native grasses are also one of our special interests. Space is very limited so display gardens are somewhat small and compact, and plants are grown very close together, but look good at this stage and will be pruned for cuttings regularly.

We do a considerable amount of watering in the summer to keep the gardens looking fresh, as the existing exotic hedge outside the fenceline must draw a considerable amount from our garden.

The existing front garden was exotic, some of which has been retained, but we are mixing many Australian plants with these.

Any Correa Study Group members travelling this way are welcome to pop in here (though our Correa collection is small and young as yet) but I would recommend a trip to Victor Harbor to a reserve (planted by SGAP Victor Harbor Group) called 'Nangawooka', which includes many species I genera from different parts of Australia, but recently planted are numerous locally collected forms of Correas from the Fleurieu Peninsula.

(Make some room on your lounge room floor, Margie, we're on our way - Ed)

I'd love to join 'Bob's Project" (any excuse to grow more Correas) to see if flowering season I size is affected by climate. By the way, Mt. Barker is

David Penn (Sydney) writes:

I have had some success with the Correas I in raiscd beds here in Sydney. Onc is a

Correa rcflexa which is 9 years old and has produced several offspring by self-seeding. A 4 year old 'Cl~ef's Cap' flowers well (C, baeucrlenii) altl~ough growing in dense shade under the canopy of a LiIIi Pifli. A Correa decumbens, also 4 years old, is a

This is a camping trip where everything must be personally catered for as there are no shopping facilities. The hut will be used as a meeting place and for limited cooking and meals.

I will be happy to give further information to anyone interested. (Arkaroola nearby is very good value and has accommodation, fuel, a shop and the most beautiful scenery.

metre across and would have been larger but for regular p~+uning. A map is enclosed with this newsletter.

The past several summers have been relatively dry, so I will have to see how things go with the more usual conditions of combined heat and humidity.

(It appears that the smooth-leaved forms of Correa do reasonably well in Sydney, us long as drainage is good and mulch kepi nwli~lji.on? the lower branches. David is resigning from the group due to other pressures. We wish him well and hope he continues to grow Correas - Ed)

Our regular contributor, Bob O'Neill (Wandin, Vic) writes:

Warm spells and rain have ~rclvided fnr continual spring growth so that once ligl~lly covercd areas are filling up nicely. Two Acacias are an their way out, leaving large gaps, but for the most part, I just need a myriad of small plants to tuck in here and there.

The difficulty is to select plants that will succeed in the various locations, these locations having differing degrees of light, moisture, space competition, drainage and wind protection. My losses indicate my errors in selection in the past and I use that learning to guide me next time.

(I sympathise entirely - am redoing whole sections of my garden because of past mistakes in selection. The funny thing is I still make mistakes. How big is your C. Marian's Marvel, Cherree? Whoops! There's another one I have to move! Ed)

Rosemary Pedler (Koolunga SA) writes:

Do you think any Correa group people would care to join a SGAP campout in the wonderful Gammon Ranges on -July 15- lg? Very rugged and beautiful, probably 4WD's advisable and good hiking possibilities, although we expect family groups and all ages. The Campout at Grindell's Hut is being organised by the Brinkworth Group of SGAP.

The Gammons are the most rugged and inaccessible part of the Flinders Ranges (no Correas) but lots of attractions for bushwalkers, photographers, botanists etc. It is home to the beautiful yellow-footed rock wallaby which can often be seen mornings and evenings.

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.L-A - a -- A' - -

(I f you want to contact Rosemary, do so quickly, because she will also be on the K. Is. trip. Incidentally, Rosemary's son, Lynn, is working on the rare /endangered Glossy black cockatoo on K. IS. - Ed)

Steve Clemesha (Woolgoolga NSW) writes:

I grafted C. 'Crowea Festival' onto C. alba and it seems to have taken. Maybe C. alba is a lil between true Correas and the Crowea 1 EriostemolA group. I found the C. reflexa (green N. Tablelands form) on top of Me. Mitchell, Cunningham's Gap, Qld. I collected a few cuttings but they did not grow, but I am pretty sure it was this form (no flowers).

(I think that discovery may extend the range of C. rejlexa, Steve. Well done! - Ed)

Flower Calendar

I thought about Bob's idea and came to the conclusion that it would not be easy. However, we could make a start. In this Newsletter I will include a sheet for you to make recordings and then you can pass them onto me to enter into a Database.

In order to be scientific, you will need to make your observations on the dates specified. Also plant in flower is one which still has at least OILG

flower in bloom (but not if they are spent and hanging on the plant).

Send me the sheet in October, after you have made your last observation. I am deliberately keeping the list small at this stage. We can add to it later. Perhaps you could make suggestions as to which species should be added next time.

A Hitchhiker's Guide to Correa reflexa can be found in pockets here and there. Along the S.A. coastline, the headland form persists but leaves

Recently, I gave a talk to the new Glen Innes are slightly pointy, fairly hard and bells are more red Group of SGAP on the subject of Correas. Someone than crimson. wanted a plant identified and was quite disappointed to find it was a C. reflexa. 'They're always Correa The large number of variations has occurred reflexa', she said. over time due to environmental factors, such as soil

types, exposure, rainfall and availability of The point about this story is that C. reflexa is pollinators. Many have disappeared from the wild,

the most common, most widespread (and the most especially in areas of intensive grazing and we are variable) of all the Correas. You can blame the probably looking at remnants and hybrid swarms, botanists for not splitting it up into more species. whlch dominated after the original parent species had There are a few sub-species, however, which are died out. generally not recognised by the average SGAPer. I personally would like to see a few more sub-species. Paul Wilson in his Revision in 1961, classified

C.rcflexa in this way. From personal observations, starting near the

Queensland border, we have both a red and a green There are four sub-species: form at Torrington. The green form with large lime- green hairy leaves is widespread right down the Correa reflexa var. reflexa ranges. It grows in rocky places and is not reliable in Correa reflexa var, cardinalis cultivation. Corren reflexa v x . nurnmulariifolia

Correa reflexa var. coriacea The red form from Torrington is a mystery

and possibly a remnant from a much large The epithet "reflexa" is derived from the distribution. The leaves are smaller, a little darker presence of two reflexed bracts around the flower. and the bells are bright red with green tips. 1 have tried to grow it several times but keep losing it. It is C. reflexa var. cardinalis (F. Muell. ex one that needs to be given special consideration and Hook., ut sp.) occurs in South Gippsland. It has protection in a Botanic Garden. relatively narrow, oblong leaves, which are smooth

and glabrous above and large brilliantly red (cardinal The green flowered form persists right into red) flowers. The 'Fat Fred' and 'Marlo' forms fit

Victoria. In the Southern Tablelands of NSW and into this category but I would extend it much further around Canberra, you find pale pink forms and then along the coastline. in the southern coastal forests, a red form with large hairy leaves appears and is widespread extending into C, reflexa var. nummuIariifo1ia (Hook. f., ut Victoria. C. speciosa var.) P.G. Wilson I. c. 30 (1961) occurs

on sea-cliffs along the western coastline of Victoria, At the same latitudes and on headlands or on on some Bass Strait Islands and on Kangaroo Island,

secondary dunes, you will find low-growing, bright S.A. Flowers are typically green, short and fat with crimson forms with smaller, s h i e r leaves than their rusty cream tips and brown anthers. This form is forest relatives. Towards the Lakes District, the very coming more into cultivation and is proving to be a narrow, deeply veined form appears. Colours are very hardy dense groundcover which is ideal for spectacularly rich and bells can be quite large. This embankments and foreground plantings. area is the home of C. 'Fat Fred', a plant which is quite unreliable in cultivation, unlike its relative from C. reflex8 var coriacea is a form which only Marlo, which is much tougher but just as spectacular. occurs near the WA border and on the offshore

islands nearby. It is rare in cultivation. In Victoria, the distribution becomes a little

confused (like your intrepid leader at times) and at This puts all the other forms into a huge grab this stage I have to jump over Melbourne and land in bag called C. jeflexa var. reflexa. To distinguish the Portland, where you will find both the headland form different forms, many of us are using locality names, (near the Smelter), at Mt. Richmond and a green form e.g., C. reflexa 'Bateman's Bay', c m at Mt. Clay. A few pink forms can also be found 'Raymond Island', C. reflexa 'Carpenter Rocks'. In here. time, I suppose some of these locality names may

become widely used common names, and so it should Going north from there the Grampians has a be.

form which is similar to the Mt. Richmond form but is quite variable in leaf size and shape. At Wyperfeld For a locality name gives us far more and in the Little Desert, we come across a low- information than a person's name. Although 'Fat growing hard-leafed form with short bells which are Fred' sounds catchy and will appeal to many, C. more orange-red than crimson. reflexa var. cardinalis 'Seaspray' would tell us a lot

more about the origins of this gem. It might also This form persists into South Australia and avoid such imaginative names as C. reflexa red.

Correa ,, F,lower Calendar 1996 1 lwne: : . . . . . . . ..! . . . i Di-str,ict:,, ,., ,' 1 ...... . . . . . . . . ... . . .

. Pleas-etick cplu.m,n if plant, is flowe,ring.: add age and ,siza I

Species.. .............. i , 1st ~ u l i 1st A U , ~ ' 1st septi 1st Oct:; Age of plant Size (H.xW)

SP!S'f!..oy.Vic) ....................... . . . . . . . , , ,

.......... alba var. pannosa

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1,baeuerlenii

calyclna I .................... ................. .................... , .......... : . . . . . ... . , , , . . , . - - I

1 decumbens . , . , . , , . . . . . . . . . . . + ............... .- , !

. . .................................. .,-,

I i

.............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . g!abra ,

............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I a w r encianay? r.. rpsea

>

.. .:. ............................... I . . .

i lawrenoiana var cordifolia ,,,,

I ........... .............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , ,

!awre,nciana var. lawre.nciana , ; . . .: ................_.. . .

, ................ ; .................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - : ! . . . . . . . . pulchella - upright ... :.. - .. ,:. . . . . . . . . i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -...,.'"-" . . .

. . ........ ............. , ,., . ,.,- . ..................... . . . . . . . . . . . . .: . . . ) . +.

1 pulchella - prostrate .......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :. ................ : ............................ : ...... ......... ...........

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " ........... , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 reflexa .-. g m n ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +,.. ...................

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ! . . :

.............................. ................. . . . . . . reflexa ... led ... (coastal .. Vic1 ..... ...+. . ,: , , , I-,- -.., , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... . . . . - - \ . ,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :

1 reflexa - red (coastal .,SA) ............... : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . < ........ .. !- -. . -

................................. . . , , , . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -, i, i

. . . reflexa . var:, ,nummulariifolia .:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I

'Pink Mist'

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'Benera Bell' ,

. . . . . . . . . . . . .............. , , , , , , i 'Poorinda ~ ~ ~ t a i + I

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SPRING FLING PERRY HOUSE - BOLD PARK

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SUNDAY 3 StP-TEMBER

hi2 9.30 2.n) - i .00 p.rn is d J o ~ n the celebrat~o~? o f th? Seg~nn~ng of sprlna. - -

Enjoy our wonderful w~ldflowers and b~rdl~fe.

Learn h o \ ~ to ~dentify wildflowers and Inspecr a wlde range oi displays ~ u t on oy the \"!ildilower Society of Western Australla in conjunction with the Royal AustralasIan

Ornithologists Union and rhe Town of Cambridge

F'srrv House. (Town of Cambridge) IS the home of the Wildflower Sociery and rhe ~ A O U and this special event 1s be1119 held to display the activities of both

zrgan~sat~ons and provide members of the public with a w~de variety of ~nforr rar~or aDOCt local flora and blras.

Tnsre ~vi l l be displays, demonsrl.ations anu gulded walks through Bolu Park anc Perry Lakes, There wlll also be actlvltles for children.

9 -A W~ldflower walks every nour irom 10.00 a.m.

dY Blrd walks every no^,^ comnienc~ng ? 0.30 a tn r

SUNDAY 8 SEPTEMBER, 1 9 9 6 - 9.30 a.m. - 4.00 p.m. 1 !

~t l ' c r r \ , l - i o i ~ ~ ~ ~ , 7 I O k . c i ~ n i ~ . l J \ fc . , Florc;1l P;lrli 1